Another award for the successful “Santorini Experience”

Athens, July 19 2017. The 3rd “Santorini Experience” will take place in the breathtaking Santorini from October 6th to 8th. The top sports tourism event for professional and amateur swimmers and runners in Greece, which recently won the silver award at the Sports Marketing Awards 2017 in the “Sports Events / Branded Events” section of the “Sports Tourism” category, offers the opportunity to those wishing to travel to the beautiful Santorini to “measure” their stamina and to “flirt” with the adrenaline!

The official airline partner of “Santorini Experience” Ryanair, which was awarded as the fastest growing company among the top 10 companies with the highest passenger traffic in Athens in 2016, is reinforcing the sports tourism of Santorini and the island’s completeness during the days of the event. The airline company will serve the route Athens-Santorini with fares starting from 14.99€ for bookings which will be completed until Sunday 23/07 and for travels within October. Since these amazing low prices will be available from Wednesday July 19, 2017 and will be snapped up quickly, customers interested in joining the event as active participants should log onto www.ryanair.com or the mobile application of Ryanair and avoid missing out.

You may see Ryanair’s video from “Santorini Experience” here!

At the same time, all those wishing to travel to the island by ferry, will be able to enjoy once again this year the safety and comfort of Blue Star Ferries. The top Greek shipping company offers 50% discount on the ferry tickets and vehicles to all those visiting the event and the island from October 2nd to 13th 2017. Each person who has completed his/her registration is entitled to the same discount for 3 more people (if these are his/her escorts) or for 4 people (if these are family members).

For the third consecutive year, ambassadors and organizers will move with the safety and efficient engines of the cars of Ford Motor Hellas, the official supporter of “Santorini Experience”.

“Santorini Experience” will receive for one more year the support of Avance Rent A Car. As an official car rental company of the event Avance Rent A Car will cover the event and all visitors’ car rental needs with one of the fastest growing car rental networks with presence in Greece & Cyprus and all major airports and will offer a 15% discount on car rentals.

VitaNTravel, as the official travel agent of the event, will take care and assist all athletes and escorts with information about the ferry routes, ferry tickets, car rentals and accommodation in the island. For more information visit Vita N Travel!

“Santorini Experience” is a world-renowned event with global broadcast, and it is worth noting that the show with the best moments of the event from 2016, which was screened in Greece via FOX Sports will also be broadcasted in 13 Asian countries (Hong Kong, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Macau, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Brunei) on July 26th (18.30 Hong Kong time zone) and July 31st (13.30 Hong Kong time zone).

Regarding the athletic part of the event, and while registrations have already surpassed the record number of last year during the first 60 days, the schedule includes a 1.5-mile open water swimming race, on Saturday 7 October 2017 and running routes of 15km, 10km & 5km, on Sunday 8 October 2017.

The swimming and running registrations continue with an undiminished pace at the official event page or alternatively at the store of the official sponsor Alafouzos Sport in Fira, which supports the event for a 3rd year.

The support from Santorini entrepreneurs does not stop there, as Aqua Vista Hotels will support for a second consecutive year both as an official supporter and hospitality sponsor the event, providing high quality hosting services to the participants and visitors of the island.

Similarly, Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa promises an unforgettable holiday experience to the visitor, at an environment that is tailored to modern needs, offering to the event and thus recognizing the great significance of “Santorini Experience” for the island and its tourism.

At the same time, Canaves Oia is listed in the hospitality sponsors, while Sunset Oia Sailing Cruises, as the expert of organized sailing tours in Santorini will assist the event.

The hospitality sponsors supporting the event are: Aqua Vista Hotels, Athina Luxury Suites, Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa, Vedema A Luxury Collection Resort Santorini, Canaves Oia, West East Suites, 270 Oia's View, Central Fira Hotel, Memories Hotel, Loizos Stylish Residencies, Fanouris Condo, Monolithia Hotel, Esperas Santorini, Sienna Residencies, Hotel Rivari Santorini, White Pearl Villas.

"Santorini Experience" will take place under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization and the Hellenic Swimming Federation with the co-organization of the Municipality of Santorini, DAPPOS and Active Media Group.

More information regarding the activities schedule and the hospitality packages of sponsors will be announced in the following weeks..

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Running @ Santorini Experience: Photo by Elias Lefas

Official Hashtag: #SantoriniExperience

Official Airline Partner: Ryanair

Official Sponsors: Blue Star Ferries, Alafouzos Sport, Athina Luxury Suites

Official Supporters: Ford Motor Hellas, “Vikos” Natural Mineral Water, Avance Rent A Car, Aqua Vista Hotels, Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa, Wyndham Grand Athens, Santorini Boatmen Union

Hospitality Sponsors: Aqua Vista Hotels, Athina Luxury Suites, Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa, Vedema A Luxury Collection Resort Santorini, Canaves Oia, West East Suites, 270 Oia's View, Central Fira Hotel, Memories Hotel, Loizos Stylish Residencies, Fanouris Condo, Monolithia Hotel, Esperas Santorini, Sienna Residencies, Hotel Rivari Santorini, White Pearl Villas

Chryssa Skodra, a Greek expatriate in frozen Finland, recounts her family vacations in Halkidiki and shares the highlights of her trips on the Discover Greece Blog.

Halkidiki is a dream destination that perfectly balances an ideal combination of stunning landscapes, unspoiled nature, gastronomy, wellness, culture, and tradition. Funnily enough, Halkidiki is not an island; it's a region on the mainland near Thessaloniki with three fjord-like peninsulas (Greeks call them 'legs') that from a coastline of about 500km.

In the summer of 2014, Chryssa and her partner spent their engagement honeymoon in Halkidiki and two summers later they brought their 7-month-old baby. Year after year her family was seduced by Halkidiki's emerald beaches with crystal clear waters, family-friendly resorts and mouth-watering local cuisine. Anyone making their first holiday-with-baby should opt for a destination as stress-free and child-friendly as possible with all the necessary amenities and proximity to medical centres. Halkidiki ticks all the boxes!

Halkidiki's beaches are endless; actually, it is pretty safe to say that there is a beach for everyone! There are cosmopolitan beaches, and deserted coves, there are beaches where the party never ends, and of course, there are quiet shores with soft sand and shallow water ideal for the kids.

With the summer just around the corner and with its growing popularity, now is the perfect time to start planning your family summer escape to Halkidiki. You will fall in love with the sunset, taste fantastic food, enjoy excellent service in one of Halkidiki's family-friendly resorts, and swim in some of Greece's most immaculate beaches. Visit Halkidiki once, and you'll undoubtedly be coming back for more!

Starting in February 2018, Piraeus port in Athens will get a direct rail link to the Athens International Airport. Piraeus is Greece's biggest port and one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean. The trip between the port and the airport is expected to take about 1 hour.

Piraeus will also connect to the airport at Spata, which is northeast of Athens, Kiato in northern Corinthia, and Halkida in Evia, all via the Proastiakos suburban railway.

The Proastiakos service will be much more frequent between Piraeus and central Athens, running every 15 to 20 minutes instead of once every hour.

Source: Ekathimerini

It's one of the most popular summer destinations in the Mediterranean with Athens as a great city break destination and hundreds of islands ready to be explored. The country also offer better value for your money than other countries like Spain and Italy. From Forbes, here are 10 places in Greece you must visit this summer!

Lake Vouliagmeni

"Mysterious Lake Vouliagmeni is just 15 miles outside Athens but a world apart. Its name derives from the Greek word vouliiazo, which means “submerge” and indeed the mesmerizing lake formed when a huge underwater spring let loose and caused a massive cave roof to collapse."

Milos Island

"This Cycladic island stunner is where many Greeks go on their honeymoons or just to get away from it all for a few days. Like the celebrated and in summer overcrowded island of Santorini, Milos is volcanic in origin. The unique geology has endowed the island with a wealth of gorgeous beaches, including Sarakiniko with its surreal white landscapes. Milos is about a three-hour ferry ride from Piraeus."

"If you're looking for great beaches, good food, a hint of glamor and great value for money then look no further than the Greek island of Paros. It's located south of the more famous (and much more expensive) Mykonos, but is a favorite vacation spot for the Greeks themselves. The cosmopolitan town of Naoussa has loads of great seafood restaurants and tavernas and is near an array of fine, uncrowded beaches."

Karpathos Island

"While Rhodes is the biggest and most popular of Greece's Dodecanese Islands, it's also the most touristy. Unless you're a big fan of medieval history (its main town is exceptionally well-preserved), I would say skip it in favor of the second largest island of the Dodecanese, Karpathos. While Patmos, another island in this Aegean archipelago, has attained more of a following as an in spot in recent years, slender Karpathos is arguably more authentic and has better beaches, too."

To read this article in full, please visit: Forbes

In times of unknowns, we question, we think, we seek knowledge, and this edition of the XpatAthens newsletter is more like a 'keep coming back to' resource that is full of content to keep you pondering, interested, and hopeful for a greater tomorrow. As we all adjust to the daily realities of staying home, so too does the entire world collectively. No one is alone in this one.

We welcome you to share this newsletter with friends and family around the globe, and thank you for keeping Greece's international community connected and active digitally! From all of us to all of you, #StayStrong #StayPositive #StayHome!

Contemporary Greek music has a deep history that expands over 100+ years. This “A Capella compilation”, an idea of the Greek artist Nikolas Raptakis and his friends, includes bits and bobs of many different hit songs, one after the other and brilliantly shows how Greek music has changed over the decades. 

The journey through the history of Greek music starts with rebetiko and the traditional. Rebetiko originated from the music of large, mainly coastal cities of Asia Minor, where big Greek communities lived and prospered during the Ottoman era. It is closely related to nightlife entertainment – ouzeries and tavernas.

Another song by Markos Vamvakaris leads us into the 40s. In the 1950s, rebetiko started changing and giving its place to a new-ish genre, laïkó. Chiotis created the idea of entertainment venues the way people understood them in Greece in the decades to follow. He is also considered one of the best bouzouki players of all times.

Towards the end of the 50s, a new music genre appears in Greece, which is called entechno – orchestral music with elements from Greek folk rhythm and melody. The lyrics of the songs are often poems written by Greek poets, to which significant composers like Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hatzidakis are adding music.

1960-1970-1980

Greek cinema bloomed in the 60s and so did Greek music since many movies had music and dance sequences like modern musicals. It is thus no coincidence that this part of the videos starts with Ipomoni and Tosa Kalokairia, which are both from Greek movies of that time.

The music of that era, especially from the 1970s onwards, carries a lot of optimism, enthusiasm, and some hippie vibes.

To read more and learn some Greek music history please visit: masaresi.com

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Grace Hotel, a member of the Auberge Resorts Collection, was awarded the title of No 1 Best Resort Hotel in Greece at the prestigious Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2022.

It was also runner-up for Best Hotel in Europe and Best Hotel in the World. These important distinctions for the 20-room luxury boutique hotel in Imerovigli on the southern Aegean island, “reflect the effort of the entire hotel team and are a special reward,” said Giorgos Avgoustis, general manager of Grace Hotel.

The complex also hosts the Varoulko Santorini restaurant, where Michelin-starred chef Lefteris Lazarou presents a menu of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine.

Originally published on: greekcitytimes.com

You’ve probably heard of SMART goals and the proper goal setting. The initials from the word SMART form an acronym and provide “technical” characteristics to a goal to make it more achievable. The original SMART traditionally formed the words Small, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic and Timed, or variations of them, to help create attainable goals. With newer insights in the neurosciences and an improved understanding of the functioning of the human brain, the landscape around the use of the subconscious mind has changed. Thus, the newer, “smarter” goals that emerged allows us to have even greater accuracy and therefore success in what we want to achieve.

Based on Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) and the science of Coaching, there are other concepts that are good to include in the right goal setting that make the goal much more achievable, so that SMART is enriched. So what is SMART targeting with the latest data and how can you use it to your advantage?

S for Specific, Sensory-based, Simple, Small

Specific: your goal must be specific in order to be measurable (eg date, exact proof that you did it)

Sensory-based: What you will see, feel, hear, what do you say to yourself when you achieve your goal? The more you use your sensory system (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory, Gustator, using all of our five senses - VAKOG) to describe the goal, the better it is recorded by your subconscious

Simple: simple, not simplistic

Small: even if the goal is big, we break it down into small steps

M for Measurable, Meaningful to you

Measurable: exactly how much money, what exactly will I look at, exactly how much will it be to know that I did it

Meaningful to you: the goal must have been set by you for you, so that it matters and is something that motivates you.

Α for Achievable, As if now, All areas of your life

Achievable: even if not now with the tools and knowledge I already have, in the future with what I will acquire

As if now: think of your goal as if you have already achieved it

All areas of your life: in successful goal setting, achieving a goal improves the overall quality of life of the individual.

R for Realistic, Responsible / Ecological

Realistic: can the goal be achieved, is it realistic, have others achieved it? If so, we measure our skills / abilities / knowledge, acquire those we do not have or ask for help, and resolve situations and views that keep us blocked. If not, reassess the goal so that it is achievable.

Responsible / Ecological: achieving the goal improves our ecology, i.e. the environment where we live / work / relationships / the natural environment etc. Does our goal promote the greater good? Is it positive and does it positively affect other areas of our lives and life in general? The better for our ecology, the easier it is to achieve the goal.

T for Timed, Towards what you want

Timed: when exactly do I want to have achieved it? The use of specific time frames helps and informs us about our course

Towards what you want: all your attention should be where you want to get and not where you want to get away from. If your focus is on poverty, you will never be able to reach abundance.

Other acronyms that can help you clarify what you need in order to set successful goals are:

PURE: Positively stated Understood Relevant Ethical / Ecological

CLEAR: Challenging Legal Environmentally Sound Appropriate Recorded

Let’s set goals properly and achieve what we long for!

Originally published on: christinadrakopoulou.com

I help outstanding individuals get unstuck from personal fears and limitations and fast-track to the life of their dreams. I specialize in the problems of modern life in urban environments: a job we do not love, dead-end relationships, lethargy, burnout, inability to live in stereotypes, excessive stress, a general feeling of “blockage”, “helplessness” and “entrapment”. For more information about me and my work visit my website.

Nestled among the picturesque Dodecanese islands lies the charming Arki, a hidden gem waiting to be explored. With its serene atmosphere, crystalline waters, and rich history, Arki offers a truly authentic Greek island experience.

Far from the crowds and commercialism, Arki offers a retreat into solitude, where you can bask in the warmth of the sun and the gentle embrace of the sea. With just 40 permanent residents, the island exudes a sense of tranquility, making it an ideal haven for weary souls.

Most shops and accommodations are clustered around the harbor, ensuring easy access to amenities while maintaining the island's unspoiled beauty. In recent years, Arki has become a popular destination for yacht owners, drawn to its pristine waters and uncharted territories in the Eastern Aegean.

Arki boasts stunning beaches framed by rugged cliffs and azure seas, perfect for sunbathing, swimming, and snorkeling. Visitors can unwind on the secluded shores of Tiganakia Beach or explore the enchanting coves of Patelia Beach, where tranquility reigns supreme.

History enthusiasts will be captivated by Arki's ancient past. The island is home to archaeological sites dating back to antiquity, including the remains of a Hellenistic fortress and a Roman mausoleum. Wander through the narrow streets of the main village, where traditional whitewashed houses and Byzantine churches offer glimpses into Arkioi's storied past.

One of Arki's highlights is its warm hospitality and authentic Greek cuisine. Sample fresh seafood delicacies at local tavernas, where fishermen bring in their daily catch straight from the sea. Savor traditional dishes infused with local herbs and flavors, accompanied by a glass of crisp, cold ouzo—the perfect way to immerse yourself in Arki's culinary delights.

Whether you're seeking relaxation, adventure, or a cultural journey, Arkioi offers a unique and unforgettable experience in the heart of the Dodecanese. With its natural beauty, rich history, and warm hospitality, this hidden gem beckons travelers to discover the true essence of Greek island life.